Insurance Glossary
Insurance policies are written in a dialect. The same word can carry a different meaning in a health plan than it does in an auto policy, and a handful of terms —actual cash value, arising out of, aggregate limit — decide whether a claim is paid. These are the 90 terms worth knowing, each explained in plain English and checked against the primary source.
Browse by coverage line
Auto Insurance Terms
The coverage parts of a personal auto policy — liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments, uninsured and underinsured motorist — plus the terms that only appear in some states, such as no-fault and SR-22 filing.
15 definitions →General Insurance Terms
The words that appear in every policy regardless of line: deductible, premium, coverage limit, exclusion, underwriting, actual cash value and replacement cost.
17 definitions →Home Insurance Terms
The HO-3 form and its parts — dwelling coverage, personal property, loss of use, additional living expenses — and the perils that need their own policy, such as flood and earthquake.
9 definitions →Life Insurance Terms
Term, whole, universal and variable life, plus the mechanics that decide what a policy actually pays: death benefit, cash value, beneficiaries, riders and conversion rights.
15 definitions →Health Insurance Terms
How a health plan shares cost with you — deductible, copay, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximum — and the plan structures those numbers sit inside: HMO, PPO, HSA, Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA marketplaces.
15 definitions →Business Insurance Terms
Commercial coverage lines and the documents that prove them: general liability, property, workers compensation, professional liability, umbrella, business owners policies and certificates of insurance.
11 definitions →Motorcycle Insurance Terms
What differs when the vehicle has two wheels: agreed value, lay-up, custom parts and equipment, medical payments, and whether a safety course changes your rate.
8 definitions →All 90 terms, A–Z
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About this glossary
Every definition here is written and checked against the primary sources linked on its page by the InsurTool Editorial Team. The terms describe how these words are used in the United States. Policy wording differs between insurers, and state law changes the meaning of some terms — your own policy document is the authority for your coverage.
Found something wrong? Tell us — corrections are checked at the source and recorded on the page. Read our editorial policy.